You Made Me Fall, But That's Okay

Chapter Two - Have I Got News For You

My hands trembling, I picked up my phone off the ground. It took me quite a while to study the message again, as I couldn’t control my hands. How was I supposed to reply to something like that? He thought he had just fallen in love with me. Was that even possible? We were both strangers, for crying out loud! This was like something that happened in stupid romance novels!

I fiddled with the keypad on my cell, typing out different ways to reply to the message he had just sent me, and then erasing them immediately because I knew my attempts weren’t good enough. Giving up on the silly little drafts, I simply texted, I can’t wait to see you tomorrow … and there’s no need to be sorry about that. I clicked the send button bravely, hoping for the best. Suddenly guilt washed over me. That reply was so lame – nothing compared to his text. Ugh, this was the time when I needed experience in this sort of thing!

I stumbled through the front door and into the hallway. Throwing my sidebag on the coat hanger, I was soon alarmed as I breathed all of the smoke on. Fire was the first thing that entered my mind. I sprinted towards the kitchen. What on earth had my sister been cooking while I was gone? She knew herself that she couldn’t cook! I told her a million times about the kitchen rules! What was she thinking? I was going to kill her as soon as I got my hands on her! Nearly growling, I wrenched open the door.

‘Hey, hey! Laura! Close the door, quick! You’ll set the smoke alarm off!’ a man’s voice was yelling at me. ‘Oh, Laura, don’t just stand there! Shut the damn door!’

Panicked, I slammed the door shut, and then turned around to see Travis, who I guessed was my sister’s new boyfriend, or he was just being his usual self and wandering around my house. He was waving a dishtowel in front of the kitchen window, obviously trying to encourage the smoke to get the hell out of my house. I looked around the kitchen for the cause of the smoke, and when I found it, I sighed. On the counter lay a burnt circle of some type of food. The oven door was wide open, clouds of grey flowing out of it.

‘Yeah … um … I sort of forgot the pizza was in the oven,’ Travis explained sheepishly, following my gaze. ‘I was busy looking after Sinead. I don’t think she’s felling too good. Maybe it’s one hell of a hangover, though. She’ll get over it soon enough. We had a pretty long night out last night, and I mean long. It took me nearly two hours to get her home from Layla’s birthday party. She refused no matter what I offered her, and believe me, I offered her anything. My friends must have thought I was desperate for sex, or something –’

‘Trav! I don’t care what you two were doing last night. Keep that to yourself,’ I snapped. ‘How the hell did you forget you were cooking? A pizza only takes about twenty minutes, anyways. How long did you leave it in for?’

‘Just until I smelled it burning,’ he shrugged. ‘I was watching the news. There’s been three people found dead in the woods. The cops are going mad trying to find the murderer … They think it’s gang trouble. You’ve not to go anywhere near those woods, alright, missy? If I catch you, and you survive, I’ll kill you myself. Believe me, I’m not lying.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Did you give Sinead any Tylenol? If you haven’t given her some already, run in now. It’s best to get rid of it before she gets all cranky. I think there’s some over there I the cupboard,’ I told him, pointing to the press beside the fridge. I threw some oven gloves on in case the pizza was hot, and picked it up and flung it into the bin. Travis wiped the counter free of burnt crumbs with a cloth and finally closed the window, stopping the heat escape the house.

‘So, did you do anything interesting today?’ Travis said, smiling. He was Sinead’s best friend before they started going out with each other. He was really nice, and I always got along well with him. Despite his lack of cooking skills, I was happy to have him as my sister’s boyfriend. She deserved someone just like him, and he could actually keep her under control – most of the time.